


Before Malachor

by thegreatandpowerfultoaster



Category: Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars Legends: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant, Pre Malachor V, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-12 23:32:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15351183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatandpowerfultoaster/pseuds/thegreatandpowerfultoaster
Summary: From a request on Tumblr - "Can we cuddle?" With Bao-Dur. Just a bit of fluff, that's not necessarily canon compliant.





	Before Malachor

The Harbinger was nothing if not consistently cold. Mara thanked the Force that it had not been her assigned vessel for long, being that war was already miserable, but at least she had somewhere to go back and get patched up on.

She pulled her robes closer to herself, as though that would help her get any warmer as she wandered the halls of the mostly empty ship. There were less and less crew every day, it seemed but it was hardly surprising, the way the battles were going.

With any luck, however that would change soon enough. Mara came to a stop at one of the doors in the endless hallway, and pressed the buzzer near the door to make her presence known. Inside she heard a few loud noises and then the door wooshed open.

A tired Zabrak faced her, his eyes lighting up slightly. “Oh! I wasn’t sure you’d come. You looked busy earlier, General.”

“Mara,” she corrected quickly, as though it would make a difference. He wouldn’t stop calling her General, no matter how friendly they were. It was something about a name giving him a reason to be attached, but they both knew they were far last that point. “How many times have I got to tell you?” She joked.

“At least one more time,” they replied at the same time. Mara smiled widely. “I was, but I’ll always make time for you, Bao.” He was her one constant in this place, with Revan and Malak changing more and more every day, and unable to make time anymore to study with her. “Besides, you look like you could use a break.”

He had been working hard on…something. Revan had him building a weapon, but for some reason, Revan didn’t want her to know what it was. That made her feel uneasy on its own, but since they needed to trust each other or they wanted battles to go their way, it just didn’t seem right somehow.

“I definitely could. Maybe we could go down and get dinner?” It wasn’t hard to tell that his heart wasn’t really in the suggestion. She suggested an even better idea, she could go get dinner, and then they could both eat in his quarters. “I couldn’t ask you to-”

“Its no trouble,” she replied quickly. “I’d rather just eat with you anyways.”

The beginnings of a smile started on his lips and she smiled an more. Really and truly, he was the only reason she was still here instead of running back to the Council, figurative tail between her legs. Mara was not a woman cut out for war. She knew she was doing the right thing being here, but it didn’t make it any easier.

So she ran recklessly through the ship down to the mess hall (she could hear her master’s scolding her) and ran back up, precarious balancing a tray on each arm. From then they are in silence, and she tried not to worry too much about the blueprints hanging out of a desk drawer or the tools scattered around the floor.

Finally she decided to talk to him. “Are you sleeping okay?” The tools and his tires expression told her that he was not, but it was good to ask and not just make assumptions, she supposed.

He hesitated. “Well…I mean…”

So no. “I know you can’t tell me what your working on, but I think Revan might be overworking you.” Either that or he was overworking himself, which was just as likely. But whatever he was building, they were both certain it was going to turn the tide against the Mandalorians.

Bao-Dur was nearly often sheepish, but this was a new brand of sheepish. He turned away from her, and focused her gaze on a wall beside her. “I need to finish it,” he says with a determination and a fire in his mind eyes she doesn’t like one bit. She knows he’s angry, but he can’t let his anger control him. “Its going to change everything.”

For some reason, the way he says it leaves her with a bitter taste in her mouth. But she has no room to talk, it just isn’t her place, since she isn’t Revan, and she isn’t him. “Even so, you need a break. I need a break. Please.”

The last part comes out a lot like a plea, and Force she hopes he hears it. His eyes soften again and he finally looks at her. “You’re…you’re right, Mara. I don’t really want to go out or anything, though.” She agreed with that and told him that they should just stay here.

“Hey, I’ve…well I think I’ve got an idea,” she says. It was almost easy to forget about the cold when they were eating, or when she was rushing down the hallway. “Are you cold, maybe?”

He seemed to catch on, although maybe he was thinking of other things, judging by the way he was blushing. “Well, yes.”

“Great, you’re cold, I’m cold let’s cuddle? Can…Can we cuddle?”

He really smiled this time, like he meant it. Like they weren’t in the middle of a war. “Yeah, Mara. I’d like that.” And she shifted to sit on his lap, and leaned back. “Its almost finished.”

“What will happen when it is?” He’s strong, she knows but very gentle, and as expected, warm on the cold Harbinger. How much will things change? More importantly, if this thing ends the war, what will happen to both of them? Will she get to see him again?

He shrugs. “I don’t even know if it’ll work right, and I definitely don’t know what Revan has planned for it. I just hope that we take our as many Mandalorians as we can with it.”

It isn’t right to tell him to keep a hold on his anger, not when she’s never been good at it. He deserves to be angry for what the Mandalorians has done to his planet. She just doesn’t want it to hurt him in the end. “I’ll be with you when you start it,” she says. “Whether Revan wants me to be or not. It’ll work, Bao. ”

“I hope so,” he says.

It works, but they both wish it didn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also at goodmorningaperture.tumblr.com


End file.
